Conditions come good

Racing gets underway at the Regates Royales in Cannes

The second day of the 36th Régates Royales de Cannes – Trophée Panerai was much luckier than the first one. Despite an unusual grey sky, yesterday's strong winds gave way to much more moderate conditions, allowing the Committee to hold a coastal race. In the Golfe-Juan area the 45 Dragons sailed three intense races, while on La Napoule Bay there was more racing for the Classics and Metre classes.

The start line for the Classics, not far from Cannes' breakwater, was alive for the first start for the bigger boats that reached at speed towards the Lérins Islands, before crossing the bay to the mark at Théoule. Soon after, the rest of the fleet provided a stunning display of boats of the most diverse sizes and rigs. Under full sail - a total of 1,300 sqm - Elena of London sped along, overtaking several competitors early on, but it was Shamrock V which snatched overall victory.

In excellent wind conditions, perfectly suited to them, the four 12 Metres - Trivia, Vanity V, Vim and Wings - had three action packed coastal races. With two wins and two second places, Vanity V came out on top, ending the day on a four point margin on Trivia and five on Wings and Vim.

In the other classes, Speedbird is the provisional leader among the Tofinous, while Scherzo leads in the Spirit of Tradition, Natica the Vintage Marconi under 15m class, Dorade the Vintage Marconi over 15m class, Sagittarius in the Classics, Moonbeam of Fife III is the leader of the Big Boats and Chinook won today's race and tops the scoreboard among the Vintage Gaffers.

Three races for the Dragons

The Dragon fleet competed in Golfe-Juan, where the 45 boats assembled for three races. The first one went to Jerboa skippered by past winner Gavia Wilkinson Cox, the second race saw the comeback of Russia's Strange Little Girl skippered by Dimitry Samokhin.

The third and final race for both these crews, was as positive for the early winners: the Russians coming home a 21st and Jerboa 32nd. The provisional results see the German crew on Powwow, leading on 18 points, followed by Blue Haze on 21 points and Strange Little Girl on 27.